Which to use
“sœur” and “sou” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,380
- “sœur” frequency rank
- #10,242
- “sou” frequency rank
- 11622
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sœur | sou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Femme ou fille, ayant le même père et la même mère que la personne considérée. Si un seul des parents est commun, c’est une demi-sœur. | Monnaie d’or médiévale, dérivant du solidus romain. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sœur and sou apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. sœur (\sœʁ\) and sou (\su\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11622, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sœur is recorded at frequency rank #1,380, classified as anoun, pronounced \sœʁ\. sou is at rank #10,242, tagged as anoun, pronounced \su\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 11622, this pair ranks #408,456 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sœur vs sou
Shared letters: su. Private to "sœur": rœ. Private to "sou": o.
"sœur" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "sou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sœur" and "sou" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sœur" or "sou"?
Remembering sœur vs sou
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sœur” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable